Spinning Beauty praises complexity: the 2012 vintage

It was a dry year, 2012, with very healthy grapes and low yields. Elements, these, which contributed to the creation of red wines of great complexity and aromatic persistence: these are precisely the characteristics that distinguish the new vintage of Spinning Beauty, the progenitor of Arnaldo Caprai's AC Signature line (also consisting of Merlot Berlcompare and Pinot Noir Malcompare) as well as the highest expression of Sagrantinoof which the winery led by Marco Caprai is the most important interpreter.

Spinning Beauty comes from the oldest Monte della Torre clonal selection vineyard and one hundred per cent Sagrantino grapes, clone Cobra. The 2012 vintage gives us a wine of great depth, intense, penetratinga wine full of personality and charm inspired by the world's great classics of long ageing. Left to mature in barriques for 10 years and at least 8 months of bottle ageing, the result is a unique, extraordinary wine with an impenetrable ruby red colour and an extremely broad aromatic strength, studded with hints of chocolate, black and red berry jam and sweet spices, woody balsamic facets, hints of incense and a dense toasted component. Gritty, characterful, warm and fresh at the same time, persistent, Spinning Beauty is an intuition that has guided the work and passion of a man to the continuous search for beauty, an invisible but stainless thread (and this is why we find this symbol on the label, which also pays homage to the Caprai family's textile origins) that binds this winery to the identity of the territory and all its traditions, in an unceasing movement towards the future. The first vintage produced was released in 2015 and relates to the 2006 harvest. The latest vintage on the market, released these days, is 2012.

To match to important appointments, not only culinary. At the table it goes perfectly with game and red meat, but you can also enjoy it on its own, its meatiness satisfying even on its own.

Retail price: from 270 euro

No. of bottles produced vintage 2012: 1,196

The 2012 vintage in detail

2012 was a year marked by a strong water deficit already starting in March, which was then compensated for by rainfall in the spring months that brought the water quantity back to the monthly average but did not make up for the previous shortages. Several heat waves followed in the following months; in mid-August, the drought problem reappeared with force, later mitigated by a light disturbance that brought the plants back into balance, preventing an excess of sugar accumulation. The harvest began in the second week of October, with excellent health and quality levels. The red wines of this vintage, even for the limited production, show excellent complexity, aromatic and polyphenolic structure, thanks to the perfect health of the grapes, which made it possible to extend ripening on the vine beyond physiological times. The wines were very complex at the end of fermentation, with medium-high alcohol contents and very intense aromatic complexity.